The present invention relates to torque-transmitting drive.
Although the invention is described primarily in conjunction with conveyors such as live roller conveyors and accumulation conveyors, it will be evident that the torque-transmitting drive of the present invention is of general utility and is adaptable to a wide range of applications.
Prior torque-transmitting drives, for example as used in live roller conveyors, have been more or less successful for their specific intended purposes. However, these prior torque-transmitting drives have been of limited utility owing to problems involving maintenance and replacement of parts. For example, the drive for a live roller conveyor system illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,650,375, issued Mar. 21, 1972, has been a successful system. But when individual endless conveyor belts break, practically complete disassembly of the conveyor is required to replace the endless drive belts. This is due to the fact that the drive shaft passes through each of the endless belts, as does each of the driven rollers on the conveyor. Thus, when one replaces a drive belt, the entire drive shaft must be disassembled from the conveyor system in order to loop the replacement endless drive belt over the end of the drive shaft. A principal object of the present invention is to eliminate this problem and to provide a torque-transmitting drive wherein the endless drive belts may be readily replaced without complete disassembly of the machine or disassembly of the drive shaft from its mounts.